Golf course

ABSTRACT

An outdoor golf course is described which includes one or more 18 hole circuits arranged radially around a central clubhouse. The base inner circuit includes six sets of three holes each leading out and then back in to the clubhouse. In each set of three holes, the tee of the first hole and the green of the third hole are located adjacent the central clubhouse. Also, in each set of three holes, the second hole includes a tee located near the first green and a green located near the third tee. Each set of the base circuit may then be used to build additional nine or 18 hole circuits leading out and back in to the central clubhouse thus providing up to six circuits in addition to the base circuit.

United States Patent Purdy March 6, 1973 GOLF COURSE [76] Inventor:Henry C. Purdy, 115 East 522 3? g z gizfififfi gky Northfield Road,Livingston, NJ. ey 0739 57 ABSTRACT [22] Flled: Apnlzl 1971 An outdoorgolf course is described which includes [21] Appl. No.: 135,932 one ormore 18 hole circuits arranged radially around a central clubhouse. Thebase inner circuit includes six sets of three holes each leading out andthen back [52] US. Cl. ..273/l';6 A in to the clubhouse In each Set ofthree holes, the tee [51] lnt.Cl. A63h6 /02 of the first hole and thegreen of the third hole are [58] Field of Search 1334/5 located adjacentthe central clubhouse. Also, in each set of three holes, the second holeincludes a tee [56] References and located near the first green and agreen located near UNITED STATES PATENTS the third tee. Each set of thebase circuit n'iaythen be used to build additional nine or 18 holecircuits lead- D200,714 3/1965 Martens ..34/5 ing out and back in to thecentral clubhouse thus 1,520,081 12/1924 Pul'nell CG providing up to sixcircuits in addition to the base cir- 2,550,48O 4/1951 Hubbard ..273/l76AB X 3,156,470 11/1964 Newkirk ..273/l76 AB 3,360,265 12/1967 Yabroudy..273/l76 E X 12 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTED 51975 3,719,360

SHEET 10F 2 INVENTOR HAL PURDY ATTORNEY PATENTEU 1 73 sum 2 or z BY HALPURLDY ATTORNE) LOP mu O L GOLF COURSE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONConventional golf courses are laid out with the starting point or firsttee located adjacent a clubhouse or other similar structure situated onthe perimeter of the course. The course leads outwardly from theclubhouse and then back in to the clubhouse with the ninth green alsobeing adjacent the clubhouse, in the majority of cases. The second nineholes of an 18 hole course are laid out in a similar manner with thetenth tee and the eighteenth green being adjacent the clubhouse. Notmany of the tees and greens are readily visible from the clubhouse suchas during a tournament and it is only convenient for players to startout playing on either the first or tenth tee. It is also often quitedifficult to expand the course to include additional 18 hole circuits.

Another golf course layout which has been proposed in the past is aradial layout with a hole leading outwardly from a central clubhouse andwith the next hole leading back in to the clubhouse. This one hole outone hole in pattern is then repeated all around the clubhouse tocomplete the 18 holes. This type of layout as compared to the presentinvention will be discussed hereafter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is thereforeto provide a golf course in which an increased number of tees and greensare located adjacent a central clubhouse or similar location whereby alarge proportion of the course is visible from the general area of theclubhouse and a number of tees are readily available from the clubhousefor starting the game. A further object is to provide a golf coursewhich can readily be expanded to form additional courses using some ofthe holes from the initial course in each of the circuits for theadditional courses. A still further object is to provide a multiplicityof overlapping courses which can be played in a variety of patterns andwhich may be of varying difficulties.

The objects of the present invention are accomplished by forming a first18 hole golf course around a central clubhouse. The 18 holes arearranged in six sets of three holes each leading out and then back in tothe clubhouse. The three holes in each set may also be used as three ofthe holes in additional nine hole circuits. These and other objects andadvantages of the invention will be more apparent from the followingdetailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an18 hole golf course in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a golf course in accordance with thepresent invention incorporating the additional circuits.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring first toFIG. 1, there is illustrated a base 18 hole golf course circuit arrangedaround a central area 22 which would normally contain the golf courseclubhouse 24. The central area is reached by means of three access roads26 in the illustrated embodiments but the number of access roads couldbe varied as desired. One advantage of the invention is that it iseasily adapted to the placement of housing along the access roads withinthe area of the golf course. Different types of housing can be locatedon the different access roads without mixing them together. For example,apartments could be placed on one road, condominiums on another road andsingle family houses on the third road with all residents having equaland convenient access to the clubhouse. Locating housing within a golfcourse is an economical use of the open spaces around the housing whichis being required more and more by zoning laws.

The arrangement of the base eighteen hole golf course circuit, the Acircuit, is illustrated in FIG. 1. The holes of this base circuit arenumbered from A-l to A-l8. The term hole is used herein to define thecombination of a tee 28, a fairway 30 and a green 32 as shown in FIG. 1at hole A-2. The holes of this base cir cuit A are arranged in six setsof three holes each with each set having one hole leading generallyoutwardly from the central area of clubhouse, another hole leading backin towards the central area and another hole connecting the outer endsof the other two holes. In other words, the holes are in a generallyradial arrangement around the central area in three hole out-in sets.Referring to FIG. 1, hole A-l has a tee located adjacent the centralarea with a fairway leading outwardly from the central area andterminating at a green remote from the central area. The third hole,A-3, has a tee remote from the central area with a fairway leadinginwardly towards the central area terminating at a green adjacent thecentral area. Hole A-2 connects holes A-1 and A-3 and has a tee near theA-l green and a green near the A-3 tee. This same general arrangement ofholes continues around the central area as clearly shown in FIG. 1. Theremaining three hole out-in sets are grouped as follows: (A-4, A-S, A-6)(A-7, A-8, A-9) (A-10, A-ll, A-12) (A-13, A-14, A-l5) and (A-16, A-17,A-18).

There are a number of distinct advantages to the arrangement of thepresent invention. First of all, onethird of the tees are adjacent thecentral area and thus readily available for starting play. Thissignificantly increases the number of players which can play the full 18holes in a day. For example, on a conventional course it is normal tostart foursomes every 7 minutes for about 7 hours or about 60 foursomesper day. The present invention permits foursomes to start on each of thecentral tees every seven minutes until the course is fully loaded. Thiswill put about 42 foursomes on the course. When these 42 foursomes havefinished, the course is again loaded with another 42 foursomes to finishup the playing day. Therefore, about 84 foursomes can play on any givenday as compared to 60 on a normal course. This could be particularlyadvantageous on crowded days or for tournaments.

A second advantage is that a large portion of the cirv cuit is easilyvisible from the central area. This is a specific advantage for golftournaments since the spectators can more easily view a larger portionof the circuit from one general location and television cameras withzoom lenses could cover all 18 holes of the circuit from one centrallocation.

As previously mentioned, radially designed golf courses have beenproposed in the past but these have involved sets of one hole out andone hole in. These designs have a larger proportion of the tees andgreens directly adjacent the central area but they have significantdisadvantages which render them impractical as contrasted to the presentinvention. One of the design criteria for golf courses is that there besome minimum distance between adjoining greens and tees, for example,150 feet. With a one hole out one hole in radial design with two accessroads, this 150 foot minimum distance would require that the inner ringof tees and greens have a radius of about 477 feet and a central area ofover 16 acres. This area is in excess of that required for facilitiessuch as the clubhouse and parking. The outer radius of the course wouldalso have to be larger. The arrangement of the present inventionincluding three access roads and a 200 foot wide practice tee 34,requires a radius of only about 240 feet and a central area of a littleover 4 acres. This size central area is adequate for facilities and doesnot waste land.

A further advantage of the three hole out-in design of the presentinvention over the one hole out one hole in design is the freedom toarrange the holes in a normal and interesting mix of three, four andfive par holes without necessitating long walks between one green andthe adjoining tee and with an efficient utilization of the land. Forexample, if a three par hole (130 to 230 yards) were to be placed in aset with a five par hole (475 to 600 yards) in one hole out one: hole indesign, there would be a long walk between one green and the next tee.The alternative is to make the holes in a set of about equal length andtherefore repetitive and uninteresting. Also, if a set of five par holeswere placed adjacent a set of three par holes, the land extendingoutwardly from the three par holes to the outer perimeter of the fivepar holes would essentially be wasted land. With the present invention,however, the outer radius of each set of holes can be approximatelyequal making the outer perimeter of the land necessary for the circuitto be of a regular configuration.

A still further advantage of the present invention is that it canreadily be expanded into additional circuits of holes using the holes inthe base circuit in the additional circuits. This aspect of theinvention is illustrated in FIG. 2 in which three additional 18 holecircuits, B, C and D are shown. The tees are indicated by T and thegreens by the circles at the opposite ends of the lines indicating thefairways. The fairway lines are segmented to indicate the 3, 4 and parholes as indicated in the legend on FIG. 2. Circuit B uses the holes A-las 8-1,

A-2 as B8, A-3 as 3-9, A-4 as 3-10, A-5 as B-17 and A-6 as B48. CircuitC uses the holes A-7 as C-l, A8 as C-8, A-9 as 0-9, A-l0 as C-l0, A-llas C-l7 and A-l2 as C-18. Circuit D uses the holes A-l3 as D-l, A-14 asD-8, A-lS as D-9, A-l6 as D- 10, A-17 as D-17 and A-l8 as D-l8. In thisarrangement, the second hole of each three hole set in the base circuithas been used as either the eighth or 17th hole of the added circuits.Another arrangement would be to use the second hole of each three holeset in the base circuit as either the second or 1 lth hole of the addedcircuits. Another possible arrangement is to provide six 18 holecircuits in addition to the base circuit rather than three. This isaccomplished by using the holes in each three hole set of the basecourse as the first, seventeenth and eighteenth holes or the first,second and eighteenth holes of the added l8 hole circuits.

An advantage of the above-described multiple circuit layout is that thevarious circuits can be of varying complexity or difficulty. Forexample, the A circuit directly around the central area can be a moredifficult tournament circuit while the additional circuits can be oflesser and varying difficulty for the normal caliber golfer. Also, theone central clubhouse serves a mul-, tiplicity of courses.

It can be seen from the above description that the golf course design ofthe present invention possesses distinct advantages. It will beunderstood that the specific embodiments described are merelyillustrative and that various changes may be made in the golf courselayout without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed. Forexample, the particular arrangement of long and short holes is onlyillustrative and may be varied as desired.

What is claimed is:

1. An outdoor golf course comprising a central area and six sets ofholes spaced around said central area, each of said sets of holescomprising a first hole extending generally outwardly from said centralarea and in cluding a tee located adjacent said central area and afairway terminating at a green located remote from said central area, athird hole extending generally inwardly towards said central area andincluding a tee located remote from said central area and a fairwayterminating at a green located adjacent said central area, and a secondhole including a tee and a fairway and a green extending generallybetween said first green and said third tee said six sets of holesforming a base circuit of 18 holes around said central area.

2. A golf course as recited in claim 1 and further including at leastone additional circuit of nine holes wherein the first hole of saidadditional circuit comprises a first hole of one of said sets of holes,the ninth hole of said additional circuit comprises a third hole of saidone of said sets of holes, and another hole of said additional circuitcomprises a second hole of said one of said sets of holes and whereinthe remaining six holes of said additional circuit comprise holes otherthan said 18 holes of said base circuit.

3. A golf course as recited in claim 2 wherein said second hole of saidone of said sets of holes comprises the eighth hole of said additionalcircuit.

4. A golf course as recited in claim 2 wherein there are additionalcircuits of nine holes for each of said sets of holes of said basecircuit.

5. A golf course as recited in claim 1 and further including at leastone additional circuit of holes wherein the first hole of saidadditional circuit comprises a first, hole of one of said sets of holes,the last hole of said additional circuit comprises a third hole of saidone of said sets of holes, and another hole of said additional circuitcomprises a second hole of said one of said sets of holes.

6. A golf course as recited in claim 5 wherein said second hole of saidone of said sets of holes comprises the next to the last hole of saidadditional circuit.

7. A golf course as recited in claim 6 wherein said additional circuitcomprises holes.

8. An outdoor golf course having a central area and a base circuit of 18holes located around said central area; said base circuit includingfirst, fourth, seventh, tenth, thirteenth and sixteenth holes spacedaround and extending generally outwardly from said central area withtees located adjacent said central area and fairways terminating atgreens located remote from said central area; third, sixth, ninth,twelfth, fifteenth and eighteenth holes extending generally inwardlytoward said central area with tees located remote from said central areaand fairways terminating at greens located adjacent said central area;second, fifth, eighth, eleventh, fourteenth and seventeenth holesincluding tees, fairways and greens extending generally between said andthird, fourth and sixth, seventh and ninth, tenth and twelfth,thirteenth and fifteenth, and sixteenth and eighteenth holes,respectively.

9. A golf course as recited in claim 8 and further including sixadditional circuits of nine holes wherein the first, fourth, seventh,tenth, thirteenth, and sixteenth holes of said base circuit comprise thefirst holes of said additional circuits, third, sixth, ninth, twelfth,fifteenth, and eighteenth holes of said base circuit comprise the ninthholes of said additional circuits, and the second, fifth, eighth,eleventh, fourteenth and seventeenth holes of said base circuit compriseother holes of said additional circuits.

10. A golf course as recited in claim 9 wherein said second, fifth,eighth, eleventh, fourteenth and seventeenth holes of said base circuitcomprise the eighth holes of said additional circuits of nine holes.

1 1. A golf course as recited in claim 8 and further including at leastone additional circuit of nine holes wherein the first hole of saidadditional circuit comprises one of said first, fourth, seventh, tenth,thirteenth and sixteenth holes of said base circuit, the eighth hole ofsaid additional circuit comprises one of said second, fifth, eighth,eleventh, fourteenth and seventeenth holes of said base circuit; and theninth hole of said additional circuit comprises one of said third,sixth, ninth, twelfth, fifteenth and eighteenth holes of said basecircuit.

12. A golf course as recited in claim 8 and further including at leastone additional circuit of 18 holes wherein the first hole of saidadditional circuit comprises one of said first, fourth, seventh, tenth,thirteenth and sixteenth holes of said base circuit, the eighteenth holeof said additional circuit comprises one of said third, sixth, ninth,twelfth, fifteenth and eighteenth holes of said base circuit, andanother hole of said additional circuit comprises one of said second,fifth, eight,

eleventh, fourteenth and seventeenth holes of said base circuit.

1. An outdoor golf course comprising a central area and six sets of holes spaced around said central area, each of said sets of holes comprising a first hole extending generally outwardly from said central area and including a tee located adjacent said central area and a fairway terminating at a green located remote from said central area, a third hole extending generally inwardly towards said central area and including a tee located remote from said central area and a fairway terminating at a green located adjacent said central area, and a second hole including a tee and a fairway and a green extending generally between said first green and said third tee said six sets of holes forming a base circuit of 18 holes around said central area.
 1. An outdoor golf course comprising a central area and six sets of holes spaced around said central area, each of said sets of holes comprising a first hole extending generally outwardly from said central area and including a tee located adjacent said central area and a fairway terminating at a green located remote from said central area, a third hole extending generally inwardly towards said central area and including a tee located remote from said central area and a fairway terminating at a green located adjacent said central area, and a second hole including a tee and a fairway and a green extending generally between said first green and said third tee said six sets of holes forming a base circuit of 18 holes around said central area.
 2. A golf course as recited in claim 1 and further including at least one additional circuit of nine holes wherein the first hole of said additional circuit comprises a first hole of one of said sets of holes, the ninth hole of said additional circuit comprises a third hole of said one of said sets of holes, and another hole of said additional circuit comprises a second hole of said one of said sets of holes and wherein the remaining six holes of said additional circuit comprise holes other than said 18 holes of said base circuit.
 3. A golf course as recited in claim 2 wherein said second hole of said one of said sets of holes comprises the eighth hole of said additional circuit.
 4. A golf course as recited in claim 2 wherein there are additional circuits of nine holes for each of said sets of holes of said base circuit.
 5. A golf course as recited in claim 1 and further including at least one additional circuit of holes wherein the first hole of said additional circuit comprises a first hole of one of said sets of holes, the last hole of said additional circuit comprises a third hole of said one of said sets of holes, and another hole of said additional circuit comprises a second hole of said one of said sets of holes.
 6. A golf course as recited in claim 5 wherein said second hole of said one of said sets of holes comprises the next to the last hole of said additional circuit.
 7. A golf course as recited in claim 6 wherein said additional circuit comprises holes.
 8. An outdoor golf course having a central area and a base circuit of 18 holes located around said central area; said base circuit including first, fourth, seventh, tenth, thirteenth and sixteenth holes spaced around and extending generally outwardly from said central area with tees located adjacent said central area and fairways terminating at greens located remote from said central area; third, sixth, ninth, twelfth, fifteenth and eighteenth holes extending generally inwardly toward said central area with tees located remote from said central area and fairways terminating at greens located adjacent said central area; second, fifth, eighth, eleventh, fourteenth and seventeenth holes including tees, fairways and greens extending generally between said first and third, fourth and sixth, seventh and ninth, tenth and twelfth, thirteenth and fifteenth, and sixteenth and eighteenth holes, respectively.
 9. A golf course as recited in claim 8 and further including six additional circuits of nine holes wherein the first, fourth, seventh, tenth, thirteenth, and sixteenth holes of said base circuit comprise the first holes of saiD additional circuits, third, sixth, ninth, twelfth, fifteenth, and eighteenth holes of said base circuit comprise the ninth holes of said additional circuits, and the second, fifth, eighth, eleventh, fourteenth and seventeenth holes of said base circuit comprise other holes of said additional circuits.
 10. A golf course as recited in claim 9 wherein said second, fifth, eighth, eleventh, fourteenth and seventeenth holes of said base circuit comprise the eighth holes of said additional circuits of nine holes.
 11. A golf course as recited in claim 8 and further including at least one additional circuit of nine holes wherein the first hole of said additional circuit comprises one of said first, fourth, seventh, tenth, thirteenth and sixteenth holes of said base circuit, the eighth hole of said additional circuit comprises one of said second, fifth, eighth, eleventh, fourteenth and seventeenth holes of said base circuit; and the ninth hole of said additional circuit comprises one of said third, sixth, ninth, twelfth, fifteenth and eighteenth holes of said base circuit. 